USS New York "Official" Websites

Apathetic Lemming of the North is not the official blog of the USS New York.

And, the Lemming likes it that way. Fascinating as America's newly-commissioned destroyer is, I like to discuss other topics, too.

The Official* List of USS New York Websites

* Officially designated by the Lemming, this seventh day of November, whatever year it is: as a list I put together today.

The point is, it's very easy to call something "official."

Here are two different websites, each presenting themselves as the "official" website of the USS New York commissioning:

• ussnewyork.com
  • Domain registered by Scott Koen, of Rutherford, New Jersey
  • Created September 8, 2002
• ussny.org
  • Domain registered by Gary Decavage, of Watertown, Connecticut
  • Created January 22, 2008
  • Linked to from new-york.navy.mil, The United States Navy's website for the USS New York (LPD 21)

As far as I can tell, both are very professionally-done websites with interesting content - and are on domains created by individuals with the foresight to nail down high-value domain names. I've got no problem with that: and the results are worth visiting.

But, "official?" My guess is that ussny.org has a better claim to that term, since the United States Navy's USS New York website links to that domain, as the Commissioning Website. The dot-com website may be officially sanctioned, too, for all I know.

About the Navy's USS New York website:

• URL: www.new-york.navy.mil
• Part of the navy.mil website
  • Yes, www.navy.mil is "the official U.S. Navy Web site"
    • See SECNAV INSTRUCTION 5720.47B, dated December 28, 2005

Human Nature, Impressive Words, and Healthy Skepticism

From the looks of things, "official" hasn't fared quite as badly as "genuine" or "new and improved!" as an utterance intended to convey worth and respectability. On the other hand, over the decades I've learned to be a trifle skeptical about assertions.

Not mistrusting, you understand: just willing to see what's real, before accepting a claim as a fact. Happily, there are a plethora of "whois" services available online. I use the one at GoDaddy.com - but they all draw from the same database.

I assume that a major online service company maintains an accurate "whois" service, because they need the software for their own registration services - and stand to lose a great deal, if they were to be caught at falsifying information.

About the dot-com "official" website? From what I saw, it has pretty good content, good 'production values', and isn't hurting anyone who assumes that it has a practical, working relationship with the USS New York.

American culture seems to have a very relaxed attitude toward the application of words like "official:" which is okay, as far as I'm concerned.

But I'm going to keep my habit of checking up on the background of high-profile online entities.

Related post:

• "USS New York (LPD 21)"
  (November 7, 2009)